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Original poster

Single parent benefits

21 replies

atr79gb · 23/08/2018 09:10

Hi there,

My wife and I are currently in the process of going through a separation. We have 2 young children, and a house with mortgage. I currently pay for everything and she is a stay at home mum (the children are school age).

I'm trying to put together an estimate of what her income might be after the split. So far, I have:

Child maintenance - £568
Child benefit - £136

What other benefits might she expect to receive?

One more question:

The mortgage itself is more than the child maintenance. It's likely that I would choose to pay this in its entirety for the sake of keeping a roof over the kids heads. Would the child maintenance be deducted from the mortgage payment.

For example, the child maintenance is £568 and the mortgage payment would be about £800.

Any advice greatly received.

Thanks,

Alex

OP posts:

LeftRightCentre · 23/08/2018 09:14

So you think the state should support your two kids rather than you and the children's mother? Why is this? This is why a lot of areas now how that shitestorm that is Universal Credit, which is what she might well get. It's a pittance. Because she needs to get a job and the two of you work together on how to support your kids before the taxpayer.

Itsatravesty · 23/08/2018 09:20

There is no such thing as single parent benefits. She would be entitled to JSA if she is actively job seeking, then probably CTC and maybe WTC once she's in employment. Child maintenance is legally enforceable whether or not you choose to pay the mortgage and is completely separate to any other benefits. Unless you plan on paying spousal maintenance your wife will have to get a job. Unfortunately single parents don't really have the option of staying at home unless they have independent wealth.

LeftRightCentre · 23/08/2018 09:24

She would be entitled to JSA if she is actively job seeking, then probably CTC and maybe WTC once she's in employment.

Yep, that's if she's not in a UC area. And they expect you to look for work and be available for placements. Can't believe people expect to split up and the taxpayer pay up to support their kids instead of the two of them doing it.

Original poster

atr79gb · 23/08/2018 09:40

Thanks for your replies.

Perhaps, I should have worded this slightly differently.

My intention is for my wife not to rely on benefits. She is aware she will need to go back to work.

However, as I currently pay for everything, she needs to work out how to make up for the lost salary.

I think the best approach would be for me to pay as much as possible (obviously more than stated child maintenance) and for her to work full time.

OP posts:

dontdoubtyourself · 23/08/2018 10:30

Google "entitled To benefits calculator" and fill it in.

ForeverBubblegum · 23/08/2018 12:38

Ignore the unfair remarks, benefits are designed to help people in crisis, and that's what the breakdown of a family is. I'm sure it won't be forever, but it could take time for your collective income to fund two homes, and in the mean time, it will be better for the DC not to be living in a battle ground.

A lot depends on if you are in a universal credit area, so the best way to find out is to put her details into an online calculator like turn2us. If you can work out the likely cost of childcare for different job options you can run it with different options to she how she will be better off (for some p/t is better if multiple dc etc)

Also have a look at when you could have the DC, and if this would reduce the childcare bill.

Hopscotch68 · 23/08/2018 12:43

Will you be doing childcare yourself?

GripNeeded · 23/08/2018 12:48

And this is why no woman should ever risk being a SAHM

delilahswishes · 23/08/2018 12:49

If the youngest child is under 5, she would be entitled to Income Support, along with tax credits. But in order to keep the house she will need to return to work asap really. I know if you rent the council can pay towards (or all) the rent in this scenario until she is on her feet but not sure if similar is around for a mortgage.

delilahswishes · 23/08/2018 12:49

Also as a working single parent she should be able to get some help towards childcare costs with tax credits.

Dilemmacentral · 23/08/2018 12:53

OP ignore the silly comments

I’m a single mum
I receive JSA
Child tax credit
Child benefit

Plus maintenance from my ex (4x your legal requirement).
Benefits do NOT include child maintenance. They DO include spousal maintenance. So bear that in mind when you come to structure your financial agreement

Original poster

atr79gb · 23/08/2018 15:16

Thanks for your replies.

This is all very new to me. So, it sounds like I need to factor in child benefit and spousal benefits with the remainder coming from my wife's salary.

Child maintenance is £568 per month. I wasn't able to find a calculator for spousal benefit.

How much would you expect to pay? As I said, the likelihood is that I will pay more than the proposed minimum for the sake of looking after the kids.

OP posts:

Babyroobs · 23/08/2018 16:47

I'm not sure many people actually pay spousal maintenance any more.
Child maintenance isn't counted ( oddly ) as far as benefits for your ex wife goes . She will be able to claim Universal credit or child and/ or working tax credits if she gets a job. She could also claim Job seekers allowance if not in a UC area.

Babyroobs · 23/08/2018 16:51

Also you have no obligation to pay mortgage and child maintenance. You need to speak to a solicitor and decide how to move forward with the house. Usually one of three things happen - one buys the other out of the house, or the house is sold and equity divided and you both start afresh, or the parent with care of the children stays in the house until the youngest child turns eighteen and then the house is sold and equity divided appropriately depending on who has been paying the mortgage for all those years in between and what contribution you have both made.

Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 23/08/2018 16:56

I was a single parent to my youngest three. I received my wage but as it was minimum wage even working full time I was entitled to working tax credits, child tax credit, housing benefit, child benefit.
After I left work, some of my benefits went up, and replaced working tax credit with income support. That changed to carers allowance when I started receiving DLA for one of my kids.

flirtygirl · 24/08/2018 00:15

Child maintenance is not counted, as previously it was counted even when it was not received. This led to poverty in many cases.
And as most know, the csa now cms are toothless when it comes to those who dodge paying child maintenance.

OP its nice to read someone who wants to do it properly from the outset.

Dilemmacentral · 24/08/2018 05:32

m not sure many people actually pay spousal maintenance any more.

Certainly amongst my friends and acquaintances it is the norm. We are all in similar situation though - very high earning husbands and we were professional high earners before giving up work to be SAHMs.

Dilemmacentral · 24/08/2018 05:33

There’s no calculator for spousal maintenance

We agreed the figure during mediation

Dilemmacentral · 24/08/2018 05:34

Re the house

I got all the house but I didn’t touch his pension. We got a pension expert to provide a report of how much my ex’s pension was actually “worth”. This figure was very similar to the equity we had in the house. We just called it quits on that front.

Dilemmacentral · 24/08/2018 05:36

£568 a month CM you have calculated. So you’re on a half decent salary. I would recommend you go to a solicitor and i would recommend mediation(depending on how civil your relationship is with your e)

Angrybird123 · 28/08/2018 17:28

Spousal maintenance is awarded in a medium to long term marriage where the non-working parent is likely to have significant difficulty returning to a decent salaried job. Its rarely for life unless the divorce occurs in later life and its unlikely that the non working spouse would get a decent job. The amount is hopefully arrived at amicably in mediation or can be contested in court. Obviously you know your finances and you will have two household now to support but presumably you and your ex agreed on her being SAHM for a reason. How old are the kids? Full time childcare costs £££ and it would really only be fair for you to contribute to this if she goes back to full time work - OR you go for 50/50 care and you each pay for it on the days you work. As best you can, try to see this in terms of how much does the childrens' household NEED to keep them as close as possible to what they had before the split in terms of activities, holidays etc. If you can please try and avoid falling into the pit of "giving it to the ex" because you really aren't - even the spousal is really often given to support the household that the children are predominantly in.

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